A spokesperson for the Argentine oil firm YPF informed that exploration work is scheduled to begin this quarter on the coast of Tierra del Fuego, a province located off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland.

The Member States of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) wish to express their continued support to the Government and people of Haiti in the extremely difficult circumstances that have prevailed since the devastation caused by the fateful earthquake that struck the country on January 12, 2010.One year later, we join with the people of Haiti and the world over in remembering the victims of that tragedy.

The Member States of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) wish to express their heartfelt sympathy to the Government and people of Brazil, particularly the relatives and friends of those who lost their lives, their homes and to those injured in the recent flooding and mudslides which occurred in southeastern, Brazil on January 12, 2011.

The torrential rainfall that Brazil has been experiencing for the past week has had an even bigger impact on the population than that of the earthquake Chile experienced in 2010, said a member of the military who had worked in Chile and now runs a makeshift hospital where victims of the worst natural disaster that Brazil has experienced are being treated.